Once a storm has hit in your area, you may be targeted by “storm chasing” roofing companies.

Unfortunately, after a bad storm or any other natural disaster hits, many people and companies try to take advantage of the fear, confusion and loss experienced by those affected. For example, after Hurricane Katrina, more than 600 people were accused of fraud, many of whom started fake charities and accepted donations. In the roofing industry, we see scams like this all the time, and the roofing companies that carry out these scams are commonly known as roofing storm chasers.

How can you spot a storm chaser?

Typically, the roofing storm chasers will be the people passing out flyers and knocking on doors after a storm has hit, and many of them will probably offer free roofing inspections. Roofing storm chases will often pay close attention to the weather channel, and once a storm has hit that has the potential to damage roofs, they start canvassing neighborhoods.

Roofing storm chasers often don’t carry any insurance at all, but that won’t stop them from telling you that your insurance company sent them to look at your roof. Don’t believe this tactic. If your insurance company arranges to have someone take a look at your roof, you can bet that they will let you know ahead of time. Additionally, these storm chasers will typically secure a local address and phone number, but you should note that anyone can acquire a PO box or a local phone number, so again, don’t let that fool you!

Why is it dangerous to work with storm chasers?

Many homeowners have worked with service providers, including roofers, who don’t exactly live up to industry standards, but storm chasers aren’t just inexperienced roofers. They have been known to knowingly use low-quality materials, offer subpar workmanship, gouge prices and accept advanced payment for work that they never intend to complete. Storm chasing roofing companies also tend to carry the wrong insurance, that is if they carry insurance at all, which leaves you to foot the bill for their mistakes.

As we mentioned earlier, many storm chasers will provide warranties on their work, and those warranties, on paper anyway, seem much better than the ones offered by legitimate roofing companies because they are longer and appear to cover more. However, the real reason why storm chasers offer these warranties is because they won’t be around long enough to be held accountable to them. Most storm chasers book it out of town after they’ve completed a few roofing jobs.

Now that you know how to spot storm chasers and why it’s dangerous to let one of these roofing companies work on your roof in Denver, it’s time to learn how to protect yourself against storm chasers. Stay tuned for our next blog to learn tips for protecting yourself against storm chasers, and as always, please feel free to contact the experts at Planet Roofing for all of your roofing needs. We offer everything from roof repair to roof replacement! Schedule your free roof inspection today!